Only 73 Miles: Southwest Airlines Drops Very Short Route As Flights 50% Empty

Published Nov 10, 2026, 1:01 PM EST James lives and breathes route development. Educated in Air Transport Management at Loughborough University and Cranfield University, James has a PhD in Airline Strategy and Economics. James was Market Opportunity Analyst at London Luton Airport and Chief Analyst at anna.aero. He taught airline strategy and economics to undergraduate and postgraduate students for five years and has worked closely with multiple carriers on route and market intelligence projects. He is based near London, UK. Southwest Airlines' average flight this year covers just 678 nautical miles (1,256 km), which is critical to the evolving hybrid operator's high aircraft productivity. Compared to 20 years ago, Cirium Diio shows that it has risen by a quarter, with transcon flying, Hawaii joining its network, and international flights contributing. It is 'only' at the third-highest level to date. This is influenced by the increasing rise of ultra-short services, defined here as anything less than 85 nautical miles (157 km). Southwest has 4,153 departures within that distance in 2026, 36% more than last year. The airline has added more spokes, including from Chicago Midway, Nashville, Phoenix, and certain Florida airports. Southwest Is Ending This Very Short Route Credit: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock The Aloha State has been part of Southwest's network since 2019. This was also when the carrier began flying within the state, initially between Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and Kahului Airport (OGG). Due to generally poor performance, including low load factors, Southwest has been reducing frequencies, in particular, on routes within the state. Compared to the peak year of 2024, flights have dropped by 17% in 2026. Schedule analysis shows that Southwest has not pulled any intra-Hawaii link. That will now change, with two routes within the state ending in the new year. On January 5, 2027, the airline will cease flying between OGG and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA), which covers just 73 nautical miles (135 km). OGG to Lihue, which covers 175 nautical miles (324 km), will also end on the same day. It won't be discussed further here as it is too long based on this article's focus. Operations OGG To KOA (November 10-16) Operations KOA To OGG (November 10-16) Daily WN2618: 1:35 PM-2:15 PM (40 minutes) Monday-Wednesday WN403: 1:35 PM-2:20 PM (45 minutes) Thursday-Sunday WN3439: 1:35 PM-2:20 PM (45 minutes) The early afternoon timings in both directions provide a good hint about how the very short route is served. Flightradar24 data since the start of November shows that the operating Boeing 737 MAX 8 leaves Phoenix at 9:30 AM and arrives in OGG at 12:55 PM local time. The aircraft then continues to KOA at 1:35 PM and continues back to the mainland. A similar setup exists in the other direction, with the aircraft arriving in KOA from the Lower 48 before flying to OGG. A Quick Look At Kahului To Kona Credit: Robin Guess | Shutterstock Southwest, which is now North America's least punctual airline, joins Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines and Southern Airways Express on the very short link. In the 12 months to July 2026, US Department of Transportation data shows that 280,041 round-trip passengers flew between OGG and KOA. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of that traffic (210,071 or 75.0%) only flew between the two places. With 76.8% of the total 280,000+ passengers, Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian was, of course, very much the top operator. It filled 76.3% of seats. Southwest was second with 22.9%, but it barely filled half of the available capacity (50.2%), despite having a significantly lower average fare than the dominant carrier. Southwest's load factor improved marginally compared to the prior 12 months (48.9%). It Was Southwest's Third-Shortest Route Across Full Network At 73 nautical miles (135 km) each way, OGG-KOA is currently the carrier's third-shortest link. Only these routes cover less distance: Denver to Colorado Springs (63 nautical miles, 117 km) and Chicago Midway to Milwaukee (70 nautical miles, 130 km). Southwest launched the latter route in March 2026, with two daily flights. Clearly, they only exist for connectivity via Chicago. From January 6, 2027, until March 10, 2027, Southwest's third-shortest route will be between HNL and OGG. Flights will cover 87 nautical miles (161 km). But from the next day, that airport pair will be replaced by Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Philadelphia, at just 78 nautical miles (144 km). Two daily flights will be available for transfer passengers via BWI in particular.